Realitarum
by cupcaki
Summary: There is a spot reserved for the very best, the one who nobody ever was. The pokemon champion leads a life like that of a king. This is a story about those who lost and never saw the great horizons. Enter a realistically dark side of the pokeverse. The least of your worries will be knowing if you'll be home in time for dinner. Rating may change.
1. Prologue

Look at you, all dressed up in your brand new cargo shorts, pride written all over your shiny vest, anticipation pooling in your large, doey eyes under the brim of your brightly coloured hat. Your backpack a steadying weight on your shoulders, pokeballs reassuring against your hip. You're excited to make your mark on the world even if it means scuffing your new shoes with its dirt. You can't wait to become the very best, the best that nobody ever was. I imagine that they told you, you were special, you could do it, that there was nothing to worry about. I imagine they told you all you had to do was explore the world and defeat those who are of higher skill level, those who stand in your way.

Of course they did, you are but a child.

You're leaving the house now, thrusting yourself out into the world. You forget to brand your parent's smiling faces into your memory. Of course you forget, you are but a child. You're under the delusion that you'll be back before all of you know it. You'll be back and you'll have achieved your dreams.

You're walking down the well-trodden path; you don't notice your mother's smile break down into a look of pure anxiety. Her shoulder's tremble with barely conceived sobs. Your father grabs her hand and squeezes it. She's not sure if it's to be reassuring or threatening. She can hear his words in his grasp around her hand, bringing back the memory of an argument in the kitchen. She squeezes her eyes shut. _We don't have a choice! We can barely afford all of our expenses as it is. This child is our only chance._

Never mind that only a handful of children made it to the top of the ever growing and ever gruesome dog pile. Never mind that most kids made it back home disheartened, depressed, their childish enthusiasm never really a thing that came back with them. Never mind that most kids suffered trauma from multiple kidnappings. Never mind that most kids witnessed near death experiences for themselves, for their friends, for their pokemon.

Never mind that most kids were lucky to make it back home in the first place.

She sucks in a shuttering breath. They need the money. Your dad is in a field of research – a field not known for money making. Your mom is able to bring in some semblance of income, being an expert breeder. But it is simply not enough. The only other options are battling or participating in less than ethical actions. Both of which are illegal, of course. They are sending you off not because they want you to explore the world.

They are sending you off because the law tends to be lenient to those who are not yet of age.

Eventually, your form disappears behind the horizon and your parents retreat back inside the house to figure out how they will survive the following years.

Yes child, you will be gone for a long, long time.

For now, the least of your worries will be knowing if you'll be home in time for dinner.


	2. Chloe

"Use water gun!" a determined voice commanded. There was a high-pitched shout, followed by a spray of water that saw the end of Hayden's charmander. The twelve-year-old boy bit down a curse and called his fallen pokemon back to its pokeball.

"Better luck next time, squirt." Alisha, Hayden's current opponent, was probably trying to be affectionate. But Hayden knew she was thinking about the new weight soon to be added to her coin bag.

It was always 'better luck next time'.

"How much do you want?" Hayden sighed defeated.

The copper-haired girl cocked her head and thought a moment. "Seventy coins should be enough."

Hayden nodded and started to count out seventy coins. It looked like he was going to be skipping meals for the next several days. He extended his arms out to her and winced as the coins fell out of his hands and clinked into the palm of hers.

"Thanks!" She said cheerfully as she put the coins safely into her purse.

"Uh… you're welcome." He remembered, suddenly, about his sportsmanship, "Thanks for battling me." He tried to be sincere.

"Ah it was no problem. I better be off, I've been itching to explore the rest of the forest before it gets too dark to see. Hopefully we'll meet again!" She waved before skipping off into the thicket of trees.

Hayden stared after her, wondering if he'd ever have skill half as decent as hers. Then he picked himself off and started walking. He needed to get to the nearest pokecentre as soon as possible. He hoped that his charmander would be ok.

He just prayed he wouldn't run into a wild pyroar or something on his way to the city.

Hayden's spirits had risen considerably upon reaching the city. He wondered at the tall, colourful buildings and the many cars zooming around on the streets. He revelled in the constant drone of conversation around him, listening in on the ones he could hear. He spotted the recognizable symbol of the pokecentre just ahead and, In the midst of all his excitement, remembered his injured charmander. Picking up his pace, he arrived at the centre and made a beeline for the counter.

"Hi nurse Joy!" Hayden greeted, bouncing a bit on the balls of his feet. He particularly liked nurse Joy. She seemed to be at every pokecenter he went to. She was extra nice and was something of a traveling mom to him. She never even challenged him to a battle, which was arguably the best part, in his opinion.

The nurse smiled brightly at the boy in front of her counter "How may I help you?"

Hayden's excitement faded as he presented her with his charmander. "Do you think you can fix her up?"

She took the pokemon from his extended arms "Of course I can. Just wait right here while I go get her settled in." She disappeared behind two sliding doors and came back after a few moments. "Your charmander should be better by tomorrow morning. Is there anything else I could help you with?"

"I'd like a room to stay at… if that's ok?" his gaze was cast downwards, as if afraid to ask such a thing of her.

"Of course!" Joy retrieved a key from under the counter. "We have a room that's completely unoccupied but we might have to place someone else in the room with you. Would you mind sharing? We've been slightly short on space."

Hayden shook his head and accepted the key. "Thanks Nurse Joy!" he waved then turned to leave the pokecentre, pocketing the key for later. The doors automatically slid open and Hayden found himself walking straight into someone. That someone happened to be in a hurry and as a result, both of them were sent tumbling to the floor.

"Aw geez, I'm really sorry." Hayden managed as he stood up.

The person he ran into was just getting himself off of the ground. Hayden registered that the person were a boy, probably a bit older than himself. The boy's hair was brown with a floppy quality to it. "Ah its no problem." He was brushing dirt off of his cloths. Hayden noticed they were sharper and much less scruffy looking than the cloths both himself and other trainers wore. He offered Hayden a hand to shake, "Jeremy Stone. It's been a pleasure running into you!"

Tentatively, Haden took it and smiled back, "Hayden Siltry. Nice to meet you too." He let go of the shake, "Um, sorry about that."

"No, no. It's alright. If anything it was my fault for rushing around like that." Jeremy's eyes, despite their chilly blue colour, were warm.

"Why such a rush anyway?" Hayden puzzled.

"Ah…" The brunette's eyes shifted slightly "I had some business with nurse Joy… my sandshrew got hurt in a battle, I was hoping she could fix him up for me."

That explanation was good enough for Hayden. "You better get in there then, the sooner your sandshrew heals, the better."

Jeremy seemed to stutter for a second before, "Yes, absolutely. I do hope we get the chance to meet each other again."

Hayden nodded out a farewell and left the premises of the pokecentre. For the remainder of the evening, he did some sight seeing, taking the time to observe the beautiful city. He even took some pictures on his disposable camera to show his parents when he got home. He managed to get up and inside the grand clock tower in the middle of the city square.

Hayden leaned against the railing of the top of the tower, silently marvelling at how tiny everything was below him. He was able to see the pokecenter from here! However, as all twelve-year-old children do, Hayden soon grew bored of the view. He took one last picture and ran back down the tower. It was beginning to get dark anyway. He started to make his way back to the pokecentre.

By the time he reached the centre, the sunlight was mostly gone. He walked through the doors and was surprised to see the counter was vacated. He thought little of it and continued to the lodging areas.

The number on the room key read _17_ so, Hayden looked for a door with a plate that also read _17_. He eventually found it and let himself in. Like every other pokecentre lodging, this room had a bunk bed, a side table and a desk with a lamp situated on top. The side table had two drawers, each containing necessities for the room's two occupants. Hayden found the first drawer had been tampered with. He concluded that he had a roommate, in that case, and that said roommate was probably outside using the restroom facilities.

Putting that information aside for later, Hayden set his bag down and opened the bottom drawer. He retrieved and changed into his set of clothing. Taking a look at the beds, it appeared that his roommate hadn't claimed one yet. Shrugging, Hayden silently called dibs on the top bunk and settled himself in for the night.

Hayden was almost on the brink of sleep when the door was opened, startling him awake. Sitting up, he made a noise of disgruntlement as whoever came in turned on the lights. Blinking away the bleariness in his vision, Hayden was quick to find out who his new roommate was.

"Alisha?" He called groggily.

The girl turned her head up, surprised. She offered a smile "Hey squirt. Sorry about waking you, I didn't expect anyone to be in here."

Hayden flopped back down and placed one arm across his face, groaning as he did so. Out of all the people who could've ended up in this room, Alisha had to be the one. He just hoped she wouldn't challenge him to another battle before he could leave the next morning.

He couldn't see her frown. "What, not happy to see me?"

He sat back up, discontent boldly displayed on his face. "You're here to challenge me again, aren't you!"

Her face softened. "You're not afraid to loose are you?"

Hayden looked stubbornly at the ground. "No."

Alisha turned off the lights and settled into her own bunk. "You don't have to accept every single challenge to battle, you know. You can always say no. If they're persistent, hold your ground. Make up an excuse if you have to. Sure you're out here to battle other trainers but that doesn't mean running yourself to the ground."

This was ground breaking news to the twelve year old. He had always assumed that it was do or die in terms of accepting challengers. Though, looking back on it, he supposed he was being a little ridiculous. How could he become a better trainer if he couldn't even buy food for himself?

Below him, Alisha was nestling into her sheets, mumbling out a goodnight. He returned it with a goodnight of his own and a thank you.

When Hayden awoke the next morning, the sun was well past the point of rising. He climbed down from his bunk to discover Alisha had already left. She was probably in the forest again, trying to capture a strong, perhaps even legendary pokemon.

He changed into his day cloths and went to return his room key to Nurse Joy.

"Thank you, Hayden!" She said, cheerful as always.

"Least I could do after you let me stay here last night." He paused, "Is Chloe ready to go?" Chloe was the name of his Charmander. Hayden never really understood why most trainers were contempt to call their pokemon by the name of their species. In his eyes, Pokemon were gentle companions that deserved a little more than half-hearted identification.

"She should be, let me go get her for you." The nurse left and then promptly returned with Hayden's pokemon.

Chloe was elated to see Hayden again, making low, joyful noises as he picked her up in a hug.

"I'm so glad you're ok! Ready to hit the road again?"

Chloe let out a small roar of excitement. Hayden giggled and called the Charmander back to her pokeball. He thanked Nurse joy and left the pokecentre.

He had a big day ahead of him.

His first stop was a mainstream café where he bought himself a muffin for breakfast and some pokeblocks for Chloe. After both of them were fed, he made his way over to a training centre. It was a family owned centre, one that was small and somewhat dingy. The equipment wasn't that great, nothing near state of the art. All trainers had to start somewhere, Hayden supposed. He just wished he had a bit more pocket money to afford a cleaner centre.

There were shallow pits in front of the building filled with stones that surrounded hedges that grew up against the outer walls. Railing lined a short stair case that lead up to the doors. A hunched over, shaggy man leaned against them, smoking. He eyed Hayden as he passed through the heavy glass doors. Hayden didn't give it a second thought as he proceeded to the centre of the room. He brought out his charmander and started warming her up. He instructed her through some punching bag exercises and then worked on her accuracy. Hayden saw that her technique was fine, she just needed to build up her skill level.

Using his pokedex as a reference, Hayden estimated that it'd be a couple more weeks before Chloe would be able to level up and learn a new move. He sighed and allowed Chloe a break and some water. He then continued the training for another hour before leaving.

He wandered around the city for the rest of the day and then returned to the pokecentre to sleep.

He went through this routine for the next week, keeping it consistent so that Chloe would evolve and so that he could start earning some money. He enjoyed the consistency of going through the same motions and enjoyed being able to take it easy and breath in the city sights along the way. Hayden always paid rapt attention to the towering buildings and zooming cars and bustling people, taking them in and never ceasing to be amazed by it all.

In hindsight, Hayden could've paid more attention. Especially to the shadow that seemed to slink around and follow him through out the day, everyday. Hayden hadn't noticed it until, on the seventh day of his new but temporary schedule, a tall shaggy man stepped out of a bypassing alleyway and stood directly in the boy's path. He smelled like a plumb of smoke and his foggy, hazel pupils were eyeing Hayden in a way that made him feel as if little spiders were waltzing on his backside.

His foggy, hazel pupils were eyeing Hayden exactly how the man in front of the training centre had.


	3. Enter Knot

p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"strong/A.N. span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;"I wanted to get this chapter up a bit early so that I would have more time to figure out back story for some of the characters. I apologize for any errors or mistakes or just weirdness with the wording/plot/story/characters/etc. I am the only one working on this story and I'm also the only one who edits it (I have a friend who'll help clarify facts but thats about it). Reviews are very much appreciated. Enjoy!/span/strong/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden had to crane his neck in order to stare up at the tall man before him. His eyes were immediately drawn to the scarlet red hair that sat short and scruffy on top of the man's head. The beginnings of a beard framed his thin lips, a subtle moustache lining the underside of his sharp nose. The man's clothing was black with red embellishments along the hems of his pants and blazer. Despite their odd sharpness, the cloths seemed ill fitted, like the man had shrunk once inside of the cloths./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden tried to step past him but the man remained firmly in his way./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden frowned. "Excuse me sir, I'd like to pass, please."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Are you Hayden?" The man said, abruptly./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden's heard his mother's warnings of stranger danger echo in his head. But this stranger knew his name somehow. Slowly he nodded, read to bolt in the opposite direction./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man's lipped quirked upward in a satisfactory smile. "Do you like battles, Hayden?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"What an odd question. Hayden answered anyway. "Not really. I'm not very good at them. I'm also sorta running out of money so I don't think I can actually afford a battle right now."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man shook his head in mock sadness. "How unfortunate. I was going to challenge you to a battle."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Ah, sorry sir. I can't really afford to loose." Hayden wanted to leave. He really wanted to leave./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""That's a shame, really. I had hoped for a wonderful match. But seeing as you're afraid to loose"-/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm not afraid of loosing!" Hayden snapped, annoyed that this stranger was picking on his inability to win./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"His face lit up in a sinister smile. "Well, excellent. Then it looks like we'll be in for a battle together." Black clad shoulders came up in a shrug. "Unless, of course, you really are scared of not winning."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden gave the man a once over, deciding if it was really worth it. On one hand, he had a high chance of loosing and could very well lose the rest of his allocated lunch money. On the other hand, he had his pride to protect. He would not let this man go around assuming such cowardly things of him./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"As if sensing the boy's reluctance, the man decided to interject a small condition. "Just for you, I'll throw in a little bonus. I'm not battling for money."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Wait… what? How could anyone not want money? "Huh?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I want something that isn't of monetary value." The stranger's voice was calm, calculating./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""What do you want?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Battle me. If I win, you'll find out what it is I'm after. If I loose, well, I'll give you whatever you want – provided that it's in my range of ability to give. Sound fair?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It didn't sound like a bad deal. "Fine, you're on." Hayden reached for his pokeball. "Come on out, Chloe!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man gave a small chuckle and wordlessly let out his own pokemon. With a red beam of light, a proud honchkrow was standing at the man's feet./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Before we begin, we should probably move into a more vacated area. I don't want to risk hitting any of the civilians. The parking lot of this building is vacated and shall do just nicely." The man nodded to the blue building they were standing in front of. Hayden thought it was a reasonable enough idea and followed the man around to the back of the building./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"As they were walking, Hayden started to have second thoughts – what if he lost and had to endure a horrible request from the stranger? Or what if the stranger changed his mind and demanded the rest of Hayden's money?/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"They stopped and faced each other on opposite sides of the parking lot. Hayden got another look at that man's stupid, smug face and allowed himself to push thoughts of second guessing away./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man made a sweeping gesture with his arm, an elegant movement that Hayden would not have expected out of the baggy black coat and shaggy hair. "You may go first, Hayden."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He hated the way the stranger allowed his name to roll off his tongue like he was talking about an expensive pet./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Chloe, use growl." The charmander let out an impressive roar that sent his opponent and his pokemon rushing to cover their ears. While the honchkrow was preoccupied with nursing its damaged ears, Hayden ordered another attack./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Scratch!" At the singular word, Chloe pounced at the opposing pokemon and racked her claws down the side of its face. The pokemon crowed in annoyance, focus coming back to it./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man's took his turn next. "Honchkrow, wing attack!" He sounded like he was commanding an army to battle, not ordering a pokemon in a shoddy street fight. The honchkrow took to the skies and was soon returning down to earth, in a dark blur heading straight for Chloe./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The hit was enough to make Chloe loose her footing and she was sent to the ground with a startled yelp. The man wasted no time seizing the opportunity and soon an order for another wing attack landed a directed hit on the poor charmander./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Chloe was down and struggling to get back up. "C'mon Chloe! I know you can get back up!" Hayden encouraged desperately. Chloe struggled another moment before rising fully up again. Hayden let out a woop of joy./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Alright! Use scratch again!" Hayden ordered with newfound vigour. Chloe let out a short roar as she charged at the bird pokemon in front of her, claws outstretched./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Doge." The command from the stranger was plain, almost bored sounding. The honchkrow did as it was told and moved out of the way. Chloe was able to snag the side of its body, leaving only minimal damage./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden wasted no time. "Scratch again!" Chloe lunged and this time was able to hit the honchkrow full on. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Honchkrow, use haze." There was an edge this time, something scared. Hayden took satisfaction in it. The bird screeched and thick clouds of black smoke were released from its wings./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"At this rate, the attack would probably end his poor charmander. Thinking fast, Hayden tried a different approach. "Use ember! And aim for the attack!" Chloe, although slightly confused as to why she was hitting an attack and not the pokemon, headed the order and the two attacks were smothered by each other. It was a strange tactic but it kept Chloe away from the harmful spray of smoke./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man, despite having his attack foiled, had a pleased look on his face that Hayden was growing all too familiar with. "Well done, Hayden. Such innovative and forward thinking. I wonder what you'll throw at me nest."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden ground his teeth in frustration. Nothing he was doing was getting him at an advantage. If anything, he knew he should be losing, that honchkrow was at least three times stronger than Chloe. He bit his lip, wondering if he should try to pull the new move he'd been trying to teach the charmander. He sighed; he would obviously have to if he wanted a chance of winning. "Chloe, I'm going to ask you to do something and it might be hard, but you're going to have to trust me and try your best." Chloe looked back at him, her big eyes lit up with her undying loyalty. "Chloe, use dragon rage."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man's pleased composure broke into something of curiosity and surprise. Chloe looked weary but she put on a brave face and began to compress all of her energy into on large, brilliantly bright ball. Her eyes were screwed shut in concentration, Hayden giving her words of encouragement. The parking lot became strangely quiet, save for the build up of energy in the charmander's paws. She was almost there, just a few more seconds./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"What happened next was a series of flashing lights and distorted events. The energy had grown to almost the entire size of the charmander's body. She had opened her eyes to release the bright ball but the strange man refused to loose to some amateur beginner. He had spoken another command, ordering his honchkrow to throw out another haze. Chloe's slight surprise and mild panic was enough to allow her to loose focus. The energy became unstable and the force exploded everywhere, sending her sprawling across the floor./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"When the debris and smoke cleared, Hayden's heart sunk at the sight before him./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Chloe lay motionless on the ground, the flame on her tail barely resembling hot coals./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man's face was in a full on smirk. "You put up a good fight, Hayden. Unfortunately, it seems your fight wasn't good enough."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden felt hot anger take residence in his chest. "You… you cheated!" He accused blatantly./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man was unfazed. To Hayden's annoyance, he seemed amused. "Hayden, Hayden, Hayden. I may be many things, but a cheater is not one of them."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You didn't wait your turn!" There was a scowl on Hayden's face./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "We had to take turns? But, I thought this was a street fight, not some fairy tail, rpg video game. Nobody span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: oblique; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"said/span we had to take turns." He dropped the façade, voice becoming more like a disciplining parent. "If you wanted to play by rules, you should've stated them before we began."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden was shocked, yet again, at this revelation. First he finds out he could refuse a battle and now this man was telling him that taking turns wasn't a thing people did in battle? He didn't know people actually stated the rules. Though he supposed it was a bit like a game of crazy eights. Everyone knew how to play except everyone played differently so discussing rules would be a good idea to make sure everyone knew what was going on. Hayden's anger began to fade away to a relenting embarrassment./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sighing, pulling out his coin pouch. "How much do you want?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man rolled his eyes. "We've been over this, its not money I want."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Oh, right. Hayden almost forgot. He put the pouch away. "What do I have to give you then?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I have a proposition … a deal, if you will." He paused, allowing his pokemon to return to its pokeball, "Your dedication to improving both yourself and your pokemon has peaked my interest. My company is looking into the bond, emotions and experiences both a trainer and their pokemon have and how that may improve battling habits and skills. I'm offering you a position to come join my research."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Plenty of laboratories and scientists are doing the same thing. What makes your research better than all of theirs?" Hayden liked being an informed member of society, thank you very much./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""That's not the only thing we're researching. Its research we're doing to help with an even bigger project, something that will change society hugely but for the better!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"There was still something off about this deal, weather it was the deal itself or the man offering it, Hayden couldn't tell what it was. "Do I have to accept now? Or is there anything else that you might want?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The stranger smiled wistfully "There are only a handful of things I want. None of which you could possibly hope to be able to give me." His demeanour changed into something more serious "You don't have to accept anything now. However, the offer is still on the table. And while I will count this as unfinished business between us, I won't haggle you over it."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Most of that spiel went right over Haydens head. He nodded in agreement anyway./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man looked pleased. "Good. I shall be going now. I have an arrangement to get to. Good day, Hayden." And with that, he started to walk away./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Wait!" Hayden remembered something, suddenly. He waited for the man to turn around before continuing. "Where do I find you? If I ever want or need to accept the offer?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Just call my name when you're ready. I'll come find you. Is that all?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You never introduced yourself."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man's eyebrows shot up, surprised at himself that he forgot such a simple detail. "Forgive me." There was that smile again, like he was very pleased about something. "They call me Knot." He turned to leave, sending a farewell over his shoulder. "Good day, Hayden." He disappeared through the alleyway, leaving Hayden to tend to his fallen charmander./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He sighed as he carefully picked her up and started to make his way to the pokecentre. At least he didn't loose any money this time./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"***/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Once Hayden had made sure Chloe was soundly at the centre, he went to go ponder his encounter over a cone of ice cream. He picked out a singular scoop of strawberry chocolate ice cream from the nearest stand and made himself comfortable on the warm concrete curb nearby./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden wasn't really sure what to think of Knot, with his scarlet hair and weird cloths. He was almost entirely certain that Knot wasn't his actual name either. Hayden found it odd that Knot wanted to battle for something as insignificant as a deal and not money. The more Hayden thought about it, the more realized that a position helping with research could also potentially count as a sort of job./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jobs got people money./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden face palmed at his own stupidity. He should've asked Knot what the deal would entail for him, should he choose to accept it. Besides the money though, Hayden knew he had no other reason to accept Knot's deal – he still didn't entirely trust the weird man./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He sighed and took another contemplative lick of his ice cream. Maybe it was best to forget about Knot entirely. He shivered a bit when he recalled how Knot had said Hayden's name. The sound was laced with weird admiration as it passed through the man's pleased smile./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden continued to think it over as he stared at the shoes of the people lining up at the stand. He was so occupied by his thoughts that he didn't notice a pair of shoes approaching until their owner sat down beside him./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Something troubling you?" Asked a warm voice./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden shook himself out of his thoughts to find a familiar mop of brown hair and cool blue eyes. He gave a small smile. "You could say that."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jeremy chuckled and swept his tongue across his own vanilla cone. "Mm. Too young to drink but old enough to experience troubling matters. Want to talk about it?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden hesitated. He really would have liked to talk to Jeremy about what had happened but Knot had been really secretive about the whole ordeal. Would it really be ok to talk about it to another person? Hayden felt suddenly quiet lost about what to do. But then he remembered the sound of Knot calling his name again and decided that, yes, it was ok to tell Jeremy./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""A strange man approached me today." Hayden finally said./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jeremy cocked an eyebrow "That does sound troubling. Did he do anything to hurt you?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden realized the implications of his initial statement and quickly jumped to fix Jeremy's assumptions. "No nothing like that. He challenged me to a pokemon battle. I would've said no except he offered not to battle over money. If I lost, which I did, I would have to accept some sort of deal."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jeremy's face grew puzzled. "What did he offer you?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden shrugged and took another lick of his ice cream. "He wanted me to come work on some research with his company. He told me that I didn't have to accept right away but I think he wanted me to accept eventually. He said the research was for a project he's currently working on."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Did he say what project it was for?" Jeremy's tone was balancing on the edge of worried./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Not really, just that it would better human society in a really large way."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Did he leave you an address or a name perhaps?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden shook his head. "He calls himself Knot. He said I should just call his name and he'll come to me."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jeremy had gone ridged. He grabbed Hayden by the shoulder with his free hand and looked him right in the eyes. Jeremy's gaze was piercing and his mouth was stern. "You are not to call that man's name, you are not to accept his offer. I advise you to stay away from him if you see him in the streets somewhere. In fact, it would be wise if you forgot about him all together. That man is bad news. If it weren't for the stupid technicalities of the law, he'd be rotting in a jail cell for the rest of his life."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden was slightly alarmed. He had almost accepted an offer given to him by an alleged criminal. "What exactly did he do? Who is he?" Hayden's eyes were wide, ice cream forgotten in the spur of the moment./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jeremy grimaced, there were people staring at the pair of them. "I think we should talk about this elsewhere. If you don't mind waiting, we can take the transit to my place of residence. It's about twenty minutes from here. Is that alright?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden nodded. He was eager for answers./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jeremy stood up, motioning for Hayden to follow him. The two boys walked to the bus stop, each one finishing their ice cream as they went. They waited in tense silence for the bus to arrive ten minutes later. Then they mounted the bus and paid their ride fees. Hayden had to suppress a wince at the low amount of coins in his pouch./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The bus ride was uneventful and Hayden took the opportunity to pick apart his thoughts and calm himself down. All of his questions were about to be answered; he just had to wait a bit./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The bus came to a jolting stop and the two of them got off at the stop. Hayden followed Jeremy through the short walk to a classy looking apartment building. They passed a bored receptionist and took the elevator up to the twentieth floor. They followed some turns through a hallway and stopped in front of one of the many doors. Jeremy produced a key from his pocket and allowed them both entry to the apartment./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jeremy's apartment was quite large, situated with modern furnishings and fancy light fixtures. The colour scheme was an earthy palette with the occasional silver or red or blue accent here or there. There were also a number of pretty rocks on display in special cases or out in the open across coffee tables./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Father is something of a geologist. It's rubbed off on me but I much prefer astronomy to rock hunting." Jeremy offered as a way of explanation. He led Hayden to the kitchen. "Want anything to drink or eat?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hayden could still taste the remaining sweetness of the ice cream. "Just water, please, if that's ok."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jeremy got to work and soon had fixed two tall glasses of water. He handed one to Hayden and then started heading to the living room where he sat down on one of the plush sofas, motioning for Hayden to do the same./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I think it's best if I start from the beginning." He paused, considering something. "You should probably hold off any questions until the end. I tend to loose my thoughts when I'm interrupted."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Whatever works for you, it should be fine." Hayden reassured./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jeremy nodded, took a solemn sip of his water and began./p 


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